In-Aeternum.net

So it appears that my pixel rose tutorial was a winner, the people over at the Quilting Bee enjoyed it, and thanks so everyone who commented on my last blog post in regards to the tut. I think I am going to have to make some more!! I am getting back into pixeling and its really great, I am enjoying it. Check out my dolls in Visitor Content>Dolls

So at the moment I am meant to be studying . I have an exam tomorrow and another the next day. I am so ready for this semester to be over. My eyes feel like they are about to fall out of my head and I just need a break. I am dying to do some sewing and actually clean my house!! On Friday morning, after my last exam, I am going to sleep in and the night before I am going to bring my kettle into my room so I can make a cup of tea in the morning without actually getting out of bed!! Good plan?? Yes!

I have procrastinated so much with studying for this exam and it made me think of how I could avoid it. Ofcourse, I have done NOTHING to try to avoid procrastination but if I was going to try I would probably do something along these lines:
1. Disconnect the internet.
2. Get someone to hide my car keys so I don’t have to make ‘emergency’ shopping trips all the time.
3. Send my dog to my Mum’s for the week so I don’t need to give her so many cuddles – she’s just too damn cute.
4. Put my computer on a shelf somewhere realllly high and then remove all chairs from my house so I can’t retrieve it to make dolls/pixel goodies.
5. Suspend my facebook, quilting bee, gmail and blog accounts until I had finished just incase I happen to ‘borrow’ someone else’s computer.

It’s just too hard!! I really just want to draw pixels and sleep!! Only two more days, it will be ok!!

I leave you with this great video created by my boyfriend and his friend Steph for Macquarie Uni on how to survive exam/essay writing.

MACro: Vlog 3

My Family.
Back row: Dad, Rob, Uncle Garry.
Front row: Mum, Coopper, Me, Tilly

I recently graduated with first class honours from my Bachelor of Arts and Science. I was such a great day and felt so good to receive my degree, being the only person from my course that was awarded first class. I felt so special in my robes and it was so lovely to have all my family there!! Sadly my other brother and sister weren’t there but it was a really great day and we had lots of fun. After the graduation we took lots of photos before heading to a gorgeous seaside restaurant for lunch. I also received some beautiful gifts!! My Mum and Dad gave me a beautiful solid silver bangle with “Samantha Bell Graduation Day 6th May 2011 ‘First Class Honours’ Syd Uni” engraved around the band. Rob gave me five gorgeous little statue tea pots to put on my book shelf – they are all unique and made by people in developing countries!! And I also got a Bach. Arts and Science graduation teddy bear from my whole family along with some gorgeous flowers and a beautiful card.

It was a really special day and I can’t wait to graduate from my Master’s Course so that I can do it all again!!

March has been a crazy month. Lots of ups and down and quite a few round and rounds!! Quick summary:

UPS
♥ Rob and I celebrated our first anniversary by going out for dinner to a lebanese restraunt where we ate way too much delicious food!!
♥ I started Masters and made some new friends: Namely Kristyn and Joanna. Masters is really really different from what I am used to, and it is so hard to gauge how I am doing because everything is so different, even to the writing style that they expect. I literally have to learn to think differently.
♥ I have been spending some quality time with my Mum which has been lovely since she lives so far away!
♥ I got hair extensions!! They are really nice and natural. Now I can have the best of both world’s: The convenience of short hair and the long hair when I want it!
♥ Rob’s mum recommended that I go and see a healer who really helped her overcome cancer. I wasn’t sure to start with if my Mum would like me to go, considering it is a natural therapy and it’s based on energy and emotional healing; but when I told Mum about it, she was so enthusiastic and said that Western medicine is not working for me, and there has to be more out there than what we know. So she encouraged me to try it out, which was great because having my Mum’s support makes things feel right to me. I went and saw the healer, Ana, and it was a fantastic experience. Discovered that I have a lot anger and that I am poisoning myself with my anger. So I am working towards a happier state of mind. I am going back this week to see her again and get more guidance… I am feeling better though, so there must be something in it!

DOWNS
♥ Probably the worst thing this month has been my health – I have been in so much pain but hopefully this wont be for too much longer as I will be starting new medication which will change everything.
♥ I was subjected to some pretty horrible discrimination by a lecturer over the past few weeks. I was too sick to attend my tutorials on Fridays and because by the time I get to Friday I am so tired and sore I can barely move. So I asked to move my tutorial time to Thursday night when I am already at uni as I just kept missing Friday’s. The tutor was horrible. She said she was going to fail me and refused to move me. I ended up having to get the Disability Support Unit at the University involved and she helped to get me moved. So all resolved as of this afternoon.
♥ I have to do a group assignment with a horrible arrogant man who is treating me like the biggest bimbo. Today he pretty much told me I wouldn’t be doing any research and that my job is to make the document “look pretty” – Does he think I am a complete idiot? I can’t believe his nerve! The way he spoke to me was disgusting and it’s not just me that he is treating like this: the other girl in the group’s job is to make the powerpoint presentation – all the research has been divided up between the three men in the group. Furious! I am going to do work and prove how badly he misjudged me and God help him if he gets anything wrong in his research!!

I didn’t really get through my March goals, but here are some new ones for April:

April 2011
1. Save $1500
2. Finish Qbee Quilt
3. Finish Corset
4. Get all assignments done on time even though I have extensions.

How is everyone doing this week?? I have been so absorbed with life that I haven’t had a chance to blog even though I have thought about it a lot. I have been spending my time at uni, trying to grapple with my new masters degree – it is so different, coming from a Performance Ethnography background and going into Commerce, Marketing. It’s just such a different way of thinking and I am still trying to get my head around it.

I have also been battling with my Arthritis lately. I was in hospital last week for an infusion and I have to go back in this Thursday for another infusion of Predisolone which is a steroid. Usually I am on 5mg a day, but these infusions are 500mg is one hit which is huge! Last week, the day after I had the infusion, I felt so amazing and was running around cleaning and getting this done – I am hoping that this happens again this week, but I just hope it lasts longer this time. I am sooooo sick of laying in bed feeling horrible

So soon, a new quilting bee layout should be on it’s way.
Sorry that this was brief, my next update will be more detailed!!

My first two days of Masters have gone well so far. I have enjoyed my first two lectures and met some nice people. The lecturers are really charismatic people so it makes lectures really interesting and easy to follow. We got an early mark today, being the first week of classes, so I went shopping and hit some amazing sales.

These are just a few things that I bought. I bought another top and two pairs of pyjama pants and top. Everything was half price of the already reduced price so I got all this stuff for $60Au which was excellent!

I have been getting really frustrated with my time management techniques lately, and I am finding that I set myself all these goals on a daily basis and hardly ever get them done. This is continually making me upset with myself so I have decided to start making goals for each month in hope that having a small list and a month to complete them will make it easier. My current list:

MARCH 2011
1. Keep up to date with my readings for uni.
2. Dye my hair.
3. Make a new corset.
4. Save $1000
5. Get a new drum.
6. Make a new layout for my Quilting Bee.

Do you have any goals for the month? Do you think that making goals for yourself is a good idea?

Tomorrow I start Masters of Commerce, Marketing. I am really excited because I have started to do my readings and it so interesting and relevant and logical – which is something that I am really not used to after doing an arts undergrad. I can relate to everything as I am a shopaholic!! So tomorrow is the first class which will be Innovation, Strategy and Global Business. Tuesday is Economics, Wednesday Marketing and then Thursday is Professional Communication. I get Friday’s off which is wonderful (three day weekend ) and each day class is only three hours so there is lots of time through the week to do study.

In other news, I have a new layout – completely hand coded by me!! There are a few more additions to come – especially in the form of content, so stay tuned

In terms of life, I am having a wonderful time!! I have my friend Suzi living with me at the moment while she tries to find her own place. It’s really lovely having her here, and it’s nice having someone to cook dinner with and have cups of tea with and just talk to randomly. I don’t want her to move out!!

On Friday I went to a lunch with my friend Marissa which was a lunch across the generations. It was held at Marissa’s mum’s house and among the attendees were the ladies in her family each of which brought a friend. It was fascinating listening to all different perspectives on life and the different experiences of these women; the youngest being 22 and the oldest two ladies turning 80 this year. And Marissa’s aunt brought an amazing tutu that she had made and we spent some time studying it’s construction – we are planning on having a tutu making day in which we endeavour to make our own!

I had date night last night with Rob. We went to a mexican restaurant and had enchiladas and then headed to putt putt golf. We only played one round so we would have plenty of time for cuddles before bed. He beat me, but it was a really good game, I got a hole in one at one point!! Cuddles was nice too. I love just hanging out and talking. We have such a great friendship. I am so excited that in less than a week we will be celebrating our 1st Anniversary!

Have you had any great experiences lately?

I have been reflecting over the past few days about the many thing I have to be thankful for, and I thought I would just list them here!
Family – I have a beautiful, loving family and my Mum is just so wonderful. She is always there to support me, get excited for me and listen to me whinge when I am upset. I have perfect brothers and sisters who I share incredibly close relationships with and who all have great health and potential for anything in life!
Rob – Our one year anniversary is on the 5th of March and I am just so excited to be with someone so great. I am truly lucky to have a boy who respects me and treasures me the way he does ♥
Friends – I have some of the most loyal wonderful friends who completely understand me and never judge me. Amongst the many that I call friend I would like to make a shout out to a few in particular: Suzi, Lani, Marissa, Pat, Angel. I don’t know what I would do without you guys!
I am also thankful that I have been able to get rid of the people who are bad for me. The people who are selfish or cruel. I am taking a stand and I don’t want negative friends in my life who think that they should be my only priority. I only want the friends who understand me and accept me for who I am. Those who criticise me and don’t listen to reason aren’t welcome in my life and I am just so happy that I have finally realised that I don’t need those type of people!!
Masters of Commerce – I found out last night that I officially got into Masters of Commerce at the University of Sydney which pretty much just makes my year!! I was so happy to get that acceptance letter and I just can’t wait to start. Which brings me to the picture below. I bought my first two note books for uni this year and a cute set of heart headphones for my iPod! I am loving the woodland creatures on the books!! Actually this might just inspire the next In-Aeternum.net layout!!

I GOT FIRST CLASS HONOURS!!!

I found out last night that I have been awarded a First Class honours in Performance Ethnography. I have spent the last four years studying for my Bachelor of Arts and Science and it just feels so great to finally get my mark, and it is the mark that I never in my wildest dreams thought I could achieve! There is nothing better than a first class! I am now eligible for a fully funded PhD! It just feels so amazing so I thought I would share!

Day 2. Who/what can’t you live without?

I would like to address both the who and the what that I can’t live without. I think both are equally interesting

Who? My Mum. I am really close to my mum. We talk every day, sometimes many times a day, and I don’t even live at home. She is the person I call when I am sad, when I am happy, when I win and when I lose. I think I would be completely lost without her. She is always ready to drop everything for me and help me, and she is unbelievably generous! When I was younger, I was really sick with my arthritis and Mum pretty much gave up her life, her job, her friends – everything so that she could look after me and help me to be as normal as possible. She is dedicated and amazingly loving. She is my best friend – and while I dont tell her everything, I know I can! She is wonderful

What? I think my phone is the material item that I can’t live without. I depend on it so much, and I feel wierd and unsettled if I forget to bring it with me or can’t find it. I mostly call Mum and Rob on the phone, and rarely get messages from others. I have an iPhone 3 which my Dad gave me last year because he didn’t want it and it came with his plan. I was so thrilled! But I had to get it unlocked to work with my sim card – so illegally it is unlocked I just didn’t want to pay $150 to get it unlocked!!

I was hoping that people could please vote for me in this SOTM comp:

Simply click on the above banner and select in-aeternum.net from the list! I would really appreciate it!

In other news, not 30 Day Blog Challenge related, Rob has gone away for a week with his friends. I miss him already and its only been seven hours but I know he will have fun, and it gives me a chance to actually finish my thesis!! I stayed at Rob’s last night and he mentioned my thesis and how the next week would be a good time to finish and my chest just cramped up and I just burst into tears. The pressure of this essay still lingering after all this time is really draining and I didn’t realise how much it was stressing me out until I went from being completely happy to being a complete blabbering mess!! So that’s the goal for this week – THESIS!!

With only a few short days left of 2010, I thought it would be nice to reflect on the year by recaping on some high points, low points and also to do a replacement blog of the posts that were deleted today when I accidently deleted WordPress from my server.

♥ High Points
1. I started honours at Sydney University and recieved first class honours (high distinctions) for everything I submitted.
2. I met my wonderful boyfriend Rob and we have created for ourselves a beautiful, honest, uplifting relationship. I have learnt alot about myself since I have met Rob and he continues to impact positively on my life with his incredible love and support.

And this is the ring Rob gave me for my Birthday


3. I attended a corset making course!
4. I saw Florence and the Machine live in concert! (Thank You Rob ♥ )
5. Dyed my hair back to it’s natural colour:

♥ Low Points
1. Health problems. I had an operation in December and still nothing is fixed. I am on so much medication and I never know if I will be able to walk or not. It’s very frustrating!
2. I lost a friend this year. It is sad, but these things happen.
3. My Nana died. It was a very hard experience and I miss her terribly. But it was also quite a peaceful experience as I slept at the nursing home with her in her final days so I feel like I got to say goodbye.
4. I haven’t actually finised my honours thesis yet!!

♥ My Christmas
I had a lovely Christmas, I hope that everyone else did too!! I got a Dyson Vaccumn cleaner from my parents:

And Rob gave me these amazing Seafolly swimmers:

♥ Coming Up in 2011
1. I will be starting Masters in Commerce (Marketing)
2. I plan to swim and take up Yoga!
3. Save money to go on a big trip (Bali has also been cancelled)
4. Going Sky Diving on the 3rd of January.
5. Buy a MAC!!

Thats all for now. What exciting things are coming up for you?